Lot 212
East Asia, China, ca. early to mid-20th century CE. This is a gorgeous pair of hand painted glass snuff jars, each a sizable squat shape, the clear glass over a painted scene on the interior and hemispherical lids. The larger is painted with a serene scene of cranes under a full moon and pine tree with colorful chrysanthemum flowers, the other side features falcons perched among cherry blossoms. The stopper lid is made of red glass with a bone spoon loose inside the jar. Hanzi script and seals are visible on the shoulders of both sides. The other bottles is painted with human figures and the Goddess Xi Wang Mu flying on crane with jade maidens, her attendants. The other side is painted with immortals climbing through the clouds with Hanzi writing on both shoulders as well. The lid is made a from greenstone with the bone spoon attached to the underside. Snuff bottles such as these would contain powdered tobacco to use as a medicinal remedy. Size (falcon bottle): 5" L x 1.5" W x 4.75" H (12.7 cm x 3.8 cm x 12.1 cm)
The reverse technique used to paint these beautiful scenes. Each of these bottles is meticulously painted from the inside, using a thin brush inserted through the bottleneck and literally painting backwards on the interior. This is a very difficult technique to master, and early bottles had simple motifs but sanding the interior made an easier surface for the pigments to adhere too. Outsiders who did not fully grasp how the inside of these jars could be possibly painted by human hands sometimes believed these were made by goblins and magic. Indeed, reverse painting is incredibly hard to master, and a single misplaced stroke could ruin the entire painting.
Provenance: ex-Stein collection, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, USA, acquired prior to 2010
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#168947
- Condition: Chip to the neck on the bottle with the red stopper lid, and bone spoon is loose inside the jar. The other jar is intact and excellent. Large sizes and colorful motifs inside both.
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